Hello people, how's tricks? Storm Alex is with us in Warwickshire and it is raining cats and dogs out here. Thankfully I don't have to go anywhere, so it's an early duvet day for me today. The week has been busy and it is nice to finally have some respite. I have time off work next week and have a project planned for it, as there is nowhere to go and nothing to do other than chill out and play with beads. I made a couple of pairs of earrings while I was planning next weeks project as Caprilicious and I will be on The Earrings Show on Facebook on Sunday the 11th of October. I am still enthralled by Biwa pearls and the diamante elements that my supplier has - everytime I think I've picked up one of everything, he puts some more on his website. Of course, I have to have one of everything - I just love the understated micro pave look, which gives a shimmer without being too much in your face. The second pair was sewn using little Czech seed beads around a stainless steel frame - black and silver is always fetching and of course, the earrings are large, but very, very light. Smoke Gets In Your EyesA clutch of little silver pendants arrived in the post from Jaipur - I've been to this shop which is a tiny place in the wholesalers district - a bit like an Indian version of Diagon Alley, and the owner has a front of house that you wouldn't be able to turn around in with ease. However, the silver he produces from the back of the shop once he knows what you're looking for is magical, and I've kept in touch with him over the years. The pendant I used first is a Smokey Quartz, flanked by moonstones. I found a string of smokey quartz pebble beads in my stash, and to up the colour quotient, taking hints from the colours in the pendant, I added all the Peruvian blue opals I could find, as well as a string of opalite beads. Seed pearls and iolite balance the equation between the light blue and smokey brown to give a pleasing effect. I went out to Leamington Spa and retrieved Woodland Fantasy from the Temperance Bar, where the display of art has now been taken down. The necklace is back on the website now. I had a cotton mask made from a local contact for a friend/ Caprilicious lady - I took one look at it when it arrived from the seamstress and thought, 'I can't send this out, it's too ordinary and boring.' So I embellished it with little roses and daisies and put it in the post with a first class stamp - to my surprise it took over ten days to get to her in London - I had almost given up and was preparing to get another one in when she posted this picture on Facebook. That's me for this week, folks. Have a good week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then xx
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Hello all, I hope you have all had a good week and beat the pre Christmas anxiety bug by getting it all ready beforehand. If you haven't, don't forget, Caprilicious offers a free gift wrap service and your gifts can be sent straight out to your friends from here. Last week was all about bracelets - Neelam Modi, of Look in the Bag kick started this orgy of bracelet making by buying one that I had tucked away somewhere, and almost forgotten about. She sent me this lovely collage, and I decided straight away that I ought to make some more in a similar style, it looked so good on her (she is a graphic designer who conjures up the most beautiful silk scarves with her own designs on them, paired with a little piece of jewellery, all presented in a bag that can be used as an accessory, as well as packaging for the scarf - what a fab gift idea). So I looked around for stuff I could incorporate into this sort of bracelet, and here's what i came up with. The first one is a blue agate geode - not dissimilar to the one on Neelam's wrist - except that one was green. I also used an amethyst flower, and a bronzite flower that I got off my friend BN, in a bead swap. I sat in front of the telly the whole week making nets out of wire - I hope you think all that effort wasn't wasted. Then, I had a phone call from my sister in law who suggested I make some more bracelets in the Chinese Whispers mode - out came the polymer clay and these rolled off the table a few hours later..... Sisters go to TeaI played with the face cane, made a week ago and under instruction from Alice Stroppel, I manipulated the cane so I got three different faces from the same cane - I wouldn't say these ladies are beauties - not by a long chalk, but their faces have character ( is that one way of saying they look like old boots!) and they look like they are related to one another - so, 'Sisters go to Tea' was the title of this little offering - since I still have some face cane left, there may be a 'Sisters...' series forthcoming. I think the bracelet is whimsical and fun, and my sense of humour ensures that I will wear it - what do you think? - do you think it's a fun bracelet or do you prefer you jewellery to be more ornate and conventional/sedate?? I think there's a place for both kinds. For some reason, I was a busy little bee and felt like making a few more pieces - every time I took a break from the wire netting, I made a necklace! MirageKyanite and opalite in different shapes and sizes carry the last of my leaf skeletons. Dyed red and blue jade teardrops were added to the leaf with a wire flourish. I love kyanite, which resembles shards of blue cracked ice, with a shimmer deep inside the stone. The molecules are arranged in sheets or layers, which give the stone it's distinctive shimmer - to me it resembles a mirage. MajorelleThe main colour in the Majorelle gardens in Marrakesh is a cobalt blue, which is vivid and cheerful. At the entrance however, as if the architect wanted to ease you into the brightness, is a restful pond in a very different shade of blue. I named this necklace after the gardens, the blue chalcedony in it is such a restful colour. The yellow agate and creamy jasper provide a calm counterpoint. I know these colours are very summery - but the very drabness of winter makes me want to create in Technicolour - and these days people follow the sun for holidays, so there's no such thing as a seasonally inappropriate colour. Rose GardenA song from my youth - Rose Garden! I made some roses for the Caprilicious birthday giveaway a couple of weeks ago - and I made these two fairly robust, so that they could be used in a necklace - much like the wedding garlands worn by the main protagonists in Indian weddings. Along with an Afghani pendant, the necklace looked pretty festive - I test drove it one evening, to rave reviews! I love that I made almost all the elements myself - in fact all the elements except the pendant and the crystal beads and clasp.
This weekend, I will bring out the tree, and put up all my decorations, get all my presents wrapped up and ready to go, and work at the day job - HELP! At least I've posted off my Christmas cards, so there's one thing crossed off the list. Have a good weekend, and I'll catch you next week, same time, same place xx |
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